I Put A Spell On You
by jackdagger
Summary: Halloween fic. The FF8 gang gets invited to a supposed haunted house on Halloween. Things start going wrong when Ellone disappears. SquallIrvine, SeiferZell
1. The Party

AN: Started this awhile ago- now that it's October, I finally get to post it. Hah. Pairings are Squall/Irvine, Zell/Seifer- that means yaoi- so be forewarned. More chapters to come.

Squall furrowed his brow, scanning the room. God, he hated parties. If it wasn't mandatory for him to be in the ballroom at that moment, he definitely wouldn't be. And to make things worse, this was no ordinary party. This was a Halloween costume party, organized, of course, by Selphie. It seemed as if everyone in Garden was there, all dressed up in silly outfits. Squall refused to dress up, however, so he merely donned his usual leather/belt ensemble.

Taking another long sip of the apple cider he held in his hand, he looked for any familiar faces among the crowd. Raijin, dressed as a lumberjack, was at the far end of the room, chatting with a pirate Fujin. Squall couldn't hear what they were saying, but Raijin must have said something wrong, for Fujin gave him a swift kick in his shin and sauntered off. Xu, a French maid, was handing out glasses of punch and pumpkin cookies to the hungry guests at the refreshment table. A mummified Nida took a glass from Xu's hand, his eyes pausing a little too long on Xu's exposed cleavage. Squall rolled his eyes.

All of a sudden, Squall felt something sharp on his neck. He let out a cry of surprise, before he turned his head around and realized it was just Irvine behind him, dressed as a vampire. His outfit was complete with a pair of plastic fangs, which he obviously thought would be funny planted into Squall's collarbone.

"What are you doing?" Squall hissed.

Irvine grinned and wrapped his arms around Squall's waist, planting his chin on Squall's shoulder. "I vant to suck your blood..."

"Cut that out!" Squall said, swatting at him.

Irvine detached from the smaller boy, noticing that his cheeks were flushed a bright red. He chuckled. "Oh come on, Squall. No one's even looking at us. Besides, I'm a vampire. It's what I'm supposed to do."

Squall smirked at him, crossing his arms. "I don't see what the point of this is. In about an hour we're going to have to change and fly to Winhill, anyway. You know Laguna summoned us there for a mission tonight."

Irvine shrugged. "You gotta learn to have some fun, Squall. Well, in public, anyway." He winked at him, before seeing Selphie out of the corner of his eye. "Selphie!" he yelled, running after her. "I vant to suck your blood!"

Squall shook his head.

"No costume, huh?" a voice asked him. Squall turned his head, and nearly jumped out of his skin. There was Headmaster Cid, dressed as a sad clown.

Cid chortled. "Startled you?"

Squall looked at him through narrowed eyes. "No..."

"The Ragnarok is all ready in the hangar for you, Squall. When you need to leave for Winhill, it'll be all ready."

"Thanks."

Squall watched as Edea approached them. She was wearing a long, flowing Medieval gown in a brilliant shade of blue. Her long, raven-colored hair was in a thick braid. "Hello, Squall," she nodded, regarding him.

"Hello, Matron."

"I think Rinoa was looking for you," Cid offered. "Anyways, we're going to be making the rounds. See you later, Squall." Cid and Edea walked off, leaving Squall to contemplate just how much he hated the Headmaster. Of course, he didn't have much time to think about that, because it registered that Rinoa was looking for him, meaning he most likely wouldn't have any peace for the rest of the night.

And sure enough, a good ten seconds after Cid and Edea left, Squall heard his name being called in a cheerful female voice. Rinoa bounded up to him, donning an overly puffy pink gown, gossamer wings, and a silver tiara. She held a star-topped wand between her thin fingers, waving it madly through the air.

"Awww," she said, pouting. "No costume?"

"I don't wear costumes," Squall said simply, raising his cider glass to his lips.

Rinoa laughed her trademark giggle. "I didn't think Seifer or Quistis would either, and just look at them." She pointed over to a table where Quistis was sitting, dressed as a turquoise harem dancer. She was surrounded by six or seven Trepies, all ogling her. Quistis looked a bit peeved, but Squall knew she secretly liked the attention. If not, she wouldn't have worn... _that_.

"Seifer's dressed up?" Squall asked, curious, taking another sip.

"Yeah. He's dressed as a police officer. And he's bullying poor Zell again, who's unfortunately dressed as a bandit... Seifer's been chasing him around with a pair of handcuffs all night."

Squall nearly spit up his drink, coughing into the glass. _They didn't._

"You okay?" Rinoa asked him, trying to pat him on the back.

"I'm fine," Squall replied, regaining his composure. "Will you excuse me for a moment?"

Rinoa opened her mouth to protest, but Squall was already gone.

"Fujin! I vant to suck your bloo-ahh!" Squall grabbed Irvine by the back of his cape collar, which was actually rather fortunate, considering Fujin probably would have kicked him anyway.

"Squall, what's up?" Irvine asked as Squall dragged him to the nearby exit.

"We have to find Zell and Seifer... _now_."

"Eh?"

The couple walked out into the hall, looking for the two blondes. A few seconds later, there came loud squeals from one end of the hall, as Zell ran by, clad in black and white stripes. A few steps behind him ran Seifer in a blue uniform, brandishing a nightstick in one hand and twirling handcuffs around his pointer finger of his other hand. "You've been a_ bad_ boy, Dincht," he was menacing through a thick grin.

Irvine blinked. "I think I need a shower. A cold shower. A shower so cold the water becomes icicles and they pierce my eyeballs and go into my brain to erase this mental picture that now torments my existence."

Zell was still running in circles at his point, giggling madly with Seifer on his tail. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Squall and Irvine standing there- Seifer nearly running into him.

"Oh, uh, hi guys!" Zell chirped abashedly.

"What the hell are you DOING?" Squall asked incredulously.

Zell fidgeted. "Having... a happy... Halloween?"

Squall crossed his arms. "And what if someone gets suspicious? You want everyone to know about you guys?"

"No..." Zell said.

"Then stop chasing each other around like moombas in heat!" Irvine scolded.

Zell and Seifer looked at their shoes. "Sorry."

Squall sighed. "Well, it's almost time to head for Winhill, anyway."

"Let's all head back to the party, eh?" Irvine suggested. "I have a feeling Selph is going to throw a fit if she notices we snuck out."

"Beware the wrath of Selphie..." Zell mumbled under his breath as he trudged back into the ballroom with the other three boys in tow.

"There you are!" Selphie said, running up to the boys. She was wearing a pink poodle skirt, and a large white sweater with a large "S" embroidered on it. On her feet were black and white saddle shoes, and around her neck was a pink chiffon scarf. She smiled warmly. "Thought you boys ran away."

"Course not, Selph," Irvine said, putting an arm around her, to Squall's noticeable discontent. "You know that you and the Garden Festival committee throw the best parties."

Selphie grinned and shoved him off. "Yeah, yeah." She looked to Squall. "How much longer 'til we get to go meet Sir Laguna?"

Squall shook his head, smiling faintly. He still found it odd that Selphie referred to his bumbling oaf of a father as "Sir". Then again, it was Selphie, and he was used to her crazy antics.

"Less than an hour. You people should get changed soon." He crossed his arms.

"Why does Laguna want us in Winhill anyway?" Zell asked.

Squall shrugged. "He just said he wants the entire orphanage gang to meet him there tonight. Rinoa was invited too. Something about a case... mission... whatever."

Selphie giggled. "Sir Laguna's so silly!"

"Whatever," Squall mused.


	2. Festivities

(AN: Well, not much to say, other than the fact that I will have the rest of the fic posted in time for Halloween. Thanks for all the reviews so far- keep them coming to motivate me to type the rest. Lol. Well, enjoy.)

A while after, Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, Zell and Seifer parked the Ragnarok outside of the small town of Winhill. Upon entering, they met up with Laguna in the town square. Leave it to Laguna, the President of Esthar, to dress up for Halloween. He was clad in a brown overcoat, plaid cap, and fake moustache, and had a prop pipe in his mouth. One of those beginning of the century detectives, Squall figured. Man, his father was an idiot. Behind Laguna was Ellone, waving to the group. Behind her stood Kiros and Ward, also dressed up, most likely at Laguna's whim. The tall, lanky Kiros looked eerily sinister in a black cloak, hood, and skeleton facepaint. Ward looked painstakingly less formidable in a full body cow costume, complete with horns, a snout, and plastic udders.

Ellone walked up to Squall, her signature green shawl draped over her shoulders in the chill Autumn air. "Hello, Squall! Long time, no see!"

"Hello, Ellone," Squall nodded, making sure not to slip and call her Sis, lest he should anything less than professional.

"Hiya!" Selphie waved.

"Isn't it nice to all be together again?" Ellone mused, tucking a piece of dark hair behind her ear.

"Whatever." Squall stepped by her and stood in front of the ridiculous looking Laguna. "What's our mission?" he asked coolly.

"Uh..." Laguna began, scratching at his ear. "Well, here's the thing. It's sorta a mission, and it's sorta not."

"Then what did you call us here for?" Squall asked through narrowed eyes.

"Well, ya know how I used to live here, right? Well, there's always been this rumor that this house was haunted." He pointed to the large mansion adjacent to Raine's old pub and flower shop.

"And?" Seifer pried.

"The people of the town called me for a favor. I guess that the supernatural happenings have intensified lately or somethin'... and since it's Halloween 'n all... they asked me to stay at the house overnight to watch for any unusual activity."

Zell made a confused face. Irvine arched an eyebrow. "So you want us to stay in a haunted house."

"Nah, more like I want you to stay in a really cool mansion! I mean, who believes in ghosts, right? An' I figured since it's like a free hotel 'n all, I'd let you kids stay here. Like a mini vacation! But it's sorta a mission too if you think about it, yanno?"

"We had nothing to do with this," Kiros felt the need to add.

"......"

"Ward says we're sorry anyway."

"Well I think it sounds like fun, Sir Laguna!" Selphie piped, clasping her hands together.

"We don't have time for some sleepover," Squall began, when Laguna grabbed his arm.

"Come on, Squall. Please?"

Squall sighed exasperatedly as an agreement. "Awesome! Come on, I'll show you inside." Laguna opened the large, creaking double doors to reveal an elaborate foyer. Flowers laced the double staircase up to a second floor hallway lined with doors. "Bedrooms are upstairs, I think. Kitchen's over there. Wish I could stay, but I got an important meetin' in Esthar in..." Laguna checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes ago. I'll check back on you tomorrow, okay? Have fun guys! 'Specially you, Squall!" Kiros and Ward left their posts and followed Laguna out the city entrance, leaving the eight teenagers inside the house.

"This place is nice, huh?" Zell asked. "Weren't we here before? I remember a haunted suit of armor or somethin'."

"That 'haunting' turned out to be a chicobo," Squall said sourly. "It seems the people of this town would even be afraid of their own shadow."

"Uncle Laguna simply wanted us to have a good time!" Ellone protested. "Please Squall, can't you have fun for once?"

Squall crossed his arms and turned his head away from her, leaving the group in an awkward silence. "Why don't we check out the rooms?" Quistis asked.

"That sounds like a good idea," Seifer shrugged.

The crew headed upstairs into a hallway lined with old paintings. Zell peeked into each doorway, bouncing on his feet. "Looks like there's four bedrooms," he said. "Each has two double beds. So... how we roomin'?"

Rinoa latched herself onto Squall's arm. "I can room with Squally!"

Squall must have looked horrified, for Selphie quickly came to his rescue. "Why don't we room boys in one room, girls in the other?"

Rinoa detached herself from a now tense Squall. She pouted. "Fine." Squall mouthed "thanks" to Selphie curiously. She returned the gratitude with a wink and a grin.

"I'll bunk with Squall then," Irvine said, casually placing a hand on Squall's shoulder, which Squall didn't shrug off.

"Damn!" Seifer cursed with feigned disappointment. "Guess that leaves me with the Chickenwuss." Zell poked him in the rib, pretending to be offended, and Seifer laughed.

"I'll room with Sis. You two can room together," Quistis said to Rinoa and Selphie.

"Okay! Come on, Rin, let's check out the room!" Selphie grabbed Rinoa's hand and they disappeared into the first bedroom. Quistis shrugged and beckoned to Ellone to check out their room. Squall gave Seifer a threatening look, and the boys trudged to their rooms.

"Oh, look. They even left mints on the pillows. How adorably nauseating." Squall picked up a wrapped candy that was lying on his pillow and promptly dropped it back down.

"Aw, come on, Squall," Irvine said, taking off his coat and hat and throwing them on a chair. "You don't have to be so negative. Seems like your dad really wanted you to have some fun tonight. And you know, I can always make fun.." He winked at Squall, who just stared at him.

"Irvine, I highly doubt that's the kind of 'fun' my father intended me to have." He tried to keep a stern face, but a twinge of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, as if he was actually going to give in to Irvine's suggestion. That is, if there wasn't a knock at the door at that very instant.

""What?" asked Irvine, annoyed.

"It's Selphie," came a bubbly voice from the other side of the door. "Sorry if I'm interrupting... anything..." She paused. Irvine and Squall shot each other confused glances. "But," Selphie continued, "We're all gonna meet up in the lounge in a bit, to hang out, talk, yanno... hope to see you there!" Her boots clattered on the hallway floor as she ran downstairs.

"That sounded... weird," Irvine said slowly.

"There was something about her tone of voice," Squall said pensively. "Does she know about us?"

"Not that I know of!" Irvine protested. "I didn't say anything, and I doubt Seifer or Zell would have."

"Hmm..." Squall thought out loud.

In the lounge, Seifer was kneeling by the fireplace, rekindling the flame. Selphie and Zell had somehow obtained a pumpkin, and were carving a face into it. Quistis walked out of the kitchen holding a tray of cider for the group, followed by Ellone carrying a plate of s'mores.

Squall sat down on the sofa. The second he planted himself down, Rinoa, appearing out of nowhere, was next to him, grabbing his arm. "Oh, Squally! I'm so happy you came!" she giggled, and pressed closer to him. Squall sighed. He was used tot his, and didn't bother protesting anymore. Besides, what was he supposed to do? Stand up in the middle of the room and shout, "You're a bitch, and I want to be with Irvine?"

Irvine sat down in an armchair next to the fireplace, giving Squall a sympathetic gaze.

"There!" Selphie said triumphantly, looking at the jack-o-lantern she and Zell had carved, grinning at its triangular eyes and orange fangs. "Kinda looks like you, Zell! It's got your mouth and everything!"

"It does not!" Zell protested.

"Does too," Selphie giggled.

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

Seifer walked over, and looked at the pumpkin, then at Zell. "Actually, I do see some similarities, Dincht."

"Fine! Whatever! I don't care anymore!" Zell yelled, and stomped off.

Quistis snickered. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Play Triple Triad?" Seifer suggested.

"Anyone have a deck?" Quistis asked. Seifer grumbled.

"Tell ghost stories?" asked Selphie.

"Does anyone know any?" Irvine countered. The room was silent.

"We could play Spin the Bottle...." Rinoa giggled.

Squall sneered. "No. Definitely not."

"Actually, that sounds like fun," Selphie laughed.

"It kinda does..." Zell grinned.

"I'm game," Irvine shrugged.

"No," Squall said again.

"Well I'm in," said Seifer.

"ME too," Quistis agreed.

"Yeah, I suppose," Ellone smiled.

"No," said Squall.

"Seven against one. You lose, Squally!" Rinoa said deviously, taking the last gulp from her soda bottle. She placed it in the middle of the floor, and the rest of the group sat cross-legged around it. "Me first!" Rinoa said, bouncing up and down. With a flick of her wrist, the bottle went spinning. With fear in his eyes, Squall watched the bottle go round and round rapidly, until it came to a slow. In horror, he saw that the nose of the bottle pointed right... at him. Rinoa squealed with delight, as she leaned towards the frightened gunblade specialist. Before Squall could recoil, she grabbed his jacket collar and planted a big kiss on his lips. She then sat back, a satisfied grin on her face. Squall's expression was blank; at least it was over.

Quistis shrugged and spun next. Squall's eyes went wide again as he realized that the bottle pointed to him... again. Quistis blushed slightly, and Rinoa made an angry face. Quistis looked to Rinoa, and decided to show her up. She grabbed a surprised Squall and kissed him twice as hard as Rinoa had. She sat back smugly and smiled politely at Rinoa, who was fuming.

Selphie giggled and spun next. She couldn't believe her eyes as it landed on Squall.

"Is that thing rigged or something?" Seifer asked. Zell looked to Irvine who was fidgeting uncomfortably, and Zell couldn't help but laugh.

Selphie looked to Squall. "Sorry," she squeaked, before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"My turn!" Zell excitedly spun the soda bottle, wishing secretly, of course, that it'd land on the object of his affection. However, of course, it landed on Squall. Seifer shifted restlessly as Zell crawled across the circle to quickly kiss Squall. Seifer gave the brunette gunblade specialist a dirty look, before predictably spinning to Squall himself. Seifer grumbled and wrinkled his nose in disgust as he hastily touched his lips to Squall's own, who was looking just as repelled.

Ellone was laughing. "Oh my gosh... IS it rigged?" She spun the bottle herself. Squall sighed as he realized the nose pointed once again at him. Ellone gave him a quick peck. Rinoa practically had smoke coming out of her ears.

It was finally Irvine's turn by now, and at this point he was quite confident that he would get to kiss Squall. However, his jaw dropped as the bottle came to a slow and tilted past Squall- to Rinoa. "DAMN!" he yelled loudly without thinking. Everyone looked to him.

"What's wrong with kissing ME?" Rinoa growled.

"Uh..." Irvine started. "Nothing...?"

"Then WHY do you look so DISGUSTED?"

"Uh, n-no reason." Irvine leaned over to kiss Rinoa, who sneered when he was done.

"Well at least we know the Squall curse has ended," Selphie laughed. Irvine crinkled his nose.

Squall's turn came up. Tentatively, he spun the bottle. It pointed- to himself.

"Maybe not..." Selphie corrected herself.

Squall's cheeks flushed a bright red. "I don't want to play this stupid game anymore!" he roared. He stood up, kicked the bottle across the room, and stomped out.

The other seven looked to each other. "Is he okay?" Ellone asked.

Zell was laughing. He fell over.

"I'll go talk to him," Rinoa said, trying to stand up, but Quistis grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you don't," the instructor ordered behind narrowed eyes. "_You'll_... just make it worse."

"How _dare_ you?" Rinoa asked. "Besides, I highly doubt Squally would listen to _you_."

"At least I have half a brai-"

"Irvine, why don't _you_ go talk to Squall?" Selphie asked.

"M-me?" Irvine stuttered, blushing a bright scarlet. _Selphie knows, Selphie knows, Selphie knows..._

"Yeah... you're the only one who didn't kiss him." There was a devious little glimmer in her eyes, and she winked at him.

Zell was laughing so hard on the floor, he hit his head on the coffee table.

Irvine nodded, stood up, dusted himself off, and went after Squall.

"Well, we may as well go to bed," Seifer said, checking his watch. "It's getting late."

"I'm going to explore a little, if that's all right with you," Ellone said. She smiled. "I've admired this house ever since I was little, but I'd never been inside."

"Okay Sis! Have fun!" Selphie said, jumping up. "I'm gonna head for my room. Wanna come, Rin?"

"Yeah, sure," Rinoa said, not taking her eyes off Quistis.

Quistis smiled politely again and Rinoa bared her teeth. Selphie dragged Rinoa to the stairs. "Why am I always the peacemaker?" she mumbled to herself.

"Goodnight, Seifer, Zell." Quistis exited the room and headed upstairs once Rinoa was out of sight.

"Shall we, Dincht?" Seifer asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"We shall, Almasy," Zell countered, grinning, as he took Seifer's arm.

Squall took a can of root beer from the fridge and took a sip, glaring at the lifesize portrait before him. "Stop staring at me!" he yelled.

"Squall?"

Squall spun around, startled, the contents of his soda splashing onto the floor. He looked at the mess, then back to the doorway. "Irvine... I was just... I... I _hate_ this house."

Irvine laughed. "Come on, Squall." He gently reached for Squall's wrist to lead him back to the lounge.

"Wait," Squall said shyly. When Irvine turned around, Squall placed his hands on either side of Irvine's head and drew him in for a deep kiss. Irvine returned the liplock, bringing his hands to rest on Squall's waist. Squall pulled away tentatively, smiling softly. "Okay," he said. "_Now_ we can go."

The lounge was deserted, aside from a few half-empty cider mugs and the head-shaped dent Zell had left in the coffee table. "They must have already gone to bed," Irvine said.

"I'm getting kind of tired myself," Squall admitted.

"Wow..." Ellone breathed at the massive library. She ran her hand over one of the books, entitled "Sorcery and Magic". She went to pull it out to skim the pages, but the book wouldn't come out of the bookcase. "Hmm?" Ellone asked, as she tugged on the slightly protruding book. There was the sound of creaking gears behind her, and she spun around. One of the bookshelves behind her had turned 90° from the wall, revealing a dark passageway behind it.....


	3. Ominousness

(A/N: Gaah! Okay, so this is a _very_ late update. Obviously I wasn't able to get it done by Halloween. I was going to submit this chapter in time for Irvine's birthday, but upload access was down. XD Oh well.)

"Rhupid Ristis." Rinoa was mumbling to herself as she brushed her teeth. "Rhupid Rhallowreen…"  
"Stop that, Rinoa!" Selphie called from the adjoining bedroom.  
"Ruddup!" Rinoa spat into the sink.

Quistis silently slipped into the covers of her bed. Ellone still hadn't returned. Sighing, she placed her head on the pillow and attempted to get some sleep.

"You're been a bad boy, Dincht."  
"Oh yeah? How you gonna punish me, Officer?"  
"I can think of a few ways."  
"Yeah, well you can do your worst."

Squall yawned and slipped underneath the covers of the king-sized bed, next to Irvine. There were two beds in the room, but naturally, one would have to go unused. Irvine usually didn't have any trouble falling asleep, but Squall was an insomniac. He'd toss and turn for a good two hours before finally falling asleep himself, or until Irvine told Squall to stop kicking him. Tonight, of course, was no exception.

"Squall… you're kicking me…" Irvine finally said.

Squall started to settle down and mumbled an apology.

Irvine laughed. "You're thrashing about like a fish out of water, even more so than usual… so what's the matter? Too much caffeine, or are you just afraid of ghosts?"

"I don't believe in ghosts."

"What about the spirit in the Tomb of the Unknown Ki-"

"There's a scientific explanation for everything ," Squall interrupted. "Besides, if there were such thing as ghosts, they wouldn't possibly be able to harm a human being."

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! A loud female scream emanated from a room far away.

"What was that?" Irvine asked, sitting up.

"It sounded like Ellone!" Squall's eyes were wide with fear. He jumped out of the bed, barely having time to throw on a shirt before bolting to the door. "Come on!"

Irvine followed. "Sounded like it came from upstairs," he said, racing for the staircase. On the way, they met up with Quistis.

"Quistis, what happened?" Squall asked.

"I don't know… Ellone never came back to the room- I hope she's all right. By the way, nice shorts."

Squall blushed madly when he realized he was wearing a pair of black, heart print boxers. They wouldn't normally have been a piece of attire Squall would wear, but they were a previous Valentine's day gift from Irvine, and Squall wore them quite often. However, at the moment, he was chiding himself for not having the decency to throw on a pair of pants.

The three ran upstairs and found themselves in a long hallway lined with doors. "Ellone!" Quistis called. "Ellone!"

"Hey, that door's open," Irvine pointed out, running to a nearby doorframe. "It's a library."

"Ellone! Sis!" Squall yelled, running in. He stopped in place as he noticed the flipped bookcase. "What's that?" he asked.

"Looks like a secret passageway," Quistis observed. "Ellone must have gone inside. Come on!" She called Ellone's name a few more times before disappearing into the aperture herself. Squall and Irvine looked to each other, then followed in tow.

"Squall?" came a voice from behind them. Squall spun around, hoping it was Ellone. Instead, it was Selphie. "Squall, what's going on?" she asked. "We heard a scream and- heeeeeey, nice shorts." Squall flushed yet again, especially when he saw Rinoa standing behind Selphie. Rinoa doubled over in laughter.

"We think she went in here," said, ignoring her and venturing deeper inside the passageway Quistis and Irvine had already gone inside. The dark path was surprisingly steep, and when the group reached what they thought was the top, there was no light.

Rinoa cast a small Flare spell, her newfound sorceress powers proving convenient. Quistis flicked the switch on a nearby hanging lamp, lighting the room fully.

They were in an attic, of sorts, with a dusty deck covered in cobwebs, plus a few boxes. An antique painting hung on the wall, and smack in the middle of the floor, was Ellone's green shawl.

"Ellone!" Squall cried, picking up his adoptive sister's insignia. "She was here…"

"But if she was here, where did she go?" Irvine asked.

"If she was in this room when she screamed, by the time she emerged back into the hallway, we could have seen her!" Quistis thought out loud.

"So what, she just disappeared?" Selphie asked incredulously.

"That's not what I'm saying…"

"Maybe your father was right, Squall. Maybe the house is haunted," Rinoa said fearfully, a shudder running through her body.

"Don't be silly," Squall rebuked. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Then what happened to Ellone?" Quistis inquired. "She may be in danger."

"Maybe she was kidnapped?" Selphie suggested.

"By who?"

"Uh…" the girl in yellow squeaked. "I don't know."

"Hey, where's Zell and Seifer?" Rinoa wondered, looking around.

"I don't know, but we should find them," Quistis ordered, starting for the doorway. Selphie and Rinoa followed, leaving Squall and Irvine behind.

"I think I know where they are," Squall mused, shaking his head. "And I hope they locked their door."

"Touché," Irvine murmured, before they both followed the three girls.

Thankfully, Zell and Seifer were both standing in the hallway when the others returned.

"Nice shorts, Leonhart," Seifer said.

"Yours are inside out, Almasy," Squall replied casually.

"Shit," Seifer replied.

Zell giggled, then quickly calmed himself down. "What's going on?" he asked. "Who screamed?"

"Ellone," Squall said. "She's missing."

"WHAT???" Seifer and Zell screeched in unison.

"How… why…?" Zell stuttered.

"I don't know. But she could still be in the house… I suggest we split up and try to find her."

Seifer nodded. "I'll go with Dincht."

Squall nodded back. "Quistis, you go with them too."

Zell noticeably scowled, but Squall ignored him. "Selphie, you take Rinoa. I'll go with Irvine."

"Figures," Zell muttered, before Seifer elbowed him.

The three groups headed off towards their separate ways.

Selphie started for the stairs, but Rinoa grabbed her arm. "Selphie, wait! I wanna do some snooping."

"Snooping?"

"Yeah. You know what you said about Ellone being kidnapped? Well, you may be right. It could have been one of us!"

"What? That's ridiculous, Rin! Besides, why would any of us want to kidnap Ellone?"

"I don't know! Come on, I wanna check out the others' rooms."

"I don't think that's a very good-"

"Come on, Selphie!" Rinoa dragged Selphie to the room Zell and Seifer were sharing, reaching up behind her ear to retrieve a bobby pin. As Selphie watched on, amazed, Rinoa picked the lock and opened the door. She gasped.

The whole place was a mess. Pillows, bedsheets, and miscellaneous clothing oddities were scattered all over.

"Oh god… I don't even want to know what went on here," Rinoa commented, clutching at her forehead.

"Me neither-"

"They must have been fighting." The dark-haired girl shook her head sadly. Selphie just stared at her, startled at her obliviousness. "We shouldn't have let them share a room in the first place," Rinoa continued. She walked over to the middle of the room and picked up a black and white striped turtleneck. "Zell even brought his costume… geez, no wonder why he was annoying Seifer!"

"Sure. _Annoying._"

"Well, let's go check out Squall's room." Using the same bobby pin, Rinoa opened the lock to Squall's door and stepped inside. "Selphie, come look at this!" she called.

"What?" Selphie asked, skeptical.

"This must be Squall's bed. I know it's his 'cause his jacket's on it."

"What about it?"

"It's still made! There's even the mint left on his pillow!"

"So…?"

"So he never went to bed! He must have stayed up, maybe to kidnap Ellone!"

"Rin, I think you've lost it. Squall would NOT kidnap Sis!"

"Then where was he tonight? He never went to sleep."

"Maybe him and Irvine shared a bed."

"Yeah, _right_." Rinoa scoffed, as if it was the silliest thing she'd ever heard. Selphie just scratched at her ear. "Come on, onto Quistis' room next!" Rinoa cheered excitedly.

"Hyne help me…" Selphie mumbled.

Squall walked through what appeared to be some kind of study. The floor was covered by a layer of dust, thick enough to leave a trail of footprints behind him.

"She hasn't been here," he said out loud, and Irvine peeked his head in through the doorframe.

"Hasn't been over here either. I hope the others are having better luck… this whole thing is pretty creepy."

Squall started to murmur an agreement, just as the lights in the room started to flicker. And went out. "What the…" he began.

"Power musta gone out," Irvine offered.

"Maybe." He paused. "Please tell me that's your hand on my shoulder."

"Yeah."

"Okay, good."

"Where does this door lead?" Zell asked the others, pointing to a large mahogany door.

Quistis tugged on the knob and it creaked open. "There's stairs… it probably leads to the attic."

"The a-attic?" Zell gulped. "Looks awfully dark…"

"Come on, chickenwuss," Seifer laughed, grabbing Zell's wrist and dragging him up the rickety stairs. Quistis ascended delicately behind them.  
Once reaching the top, the trio found themselves in a wide area with a creaky wooden floor. There were a few cardboard boxes scattered miscellaneously. There would have been nothing strange about the attic- that is, if the ceiling wasn't cluttered with numerous strange, hanging black objects.

"…The hell? Is that some kind of plant?" Zell asked.

"Zell…" Quistis began, choking on her own words, "those are bats."

"RUN!" Seifer yelled, as the first tiny mammal screeched and detached itself from the rafters, flying towards the group.

Seifer, Quistis and Zell turned on their heels and ran as fast as they could back down the steep staircase, practically tripping on their own feet as they ran. The persistent bats flapped behind them.

"Ah!" Quistis shrieked, swinging her arms above her head to try and get the bloodsuckers out of her hair. Zell was screaming in an unusually high-pitched tone. Seifer was grunting to himself, shielding his face with the sleeve of his bathrobe.

Once reaching the door at the base of the stairs, Seifer grabbed it and slammed it behind them, the bats' frustrated cries and flapping of wings muffled behind the wood.

Quistis stumbled back towards the wall, taking a huge breath and clutching at her chest. "That- was a close one," she breathed.

Zell continued to whimper in the same unusually high-pitched tone he'd used earlier. Seifer put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "S'ok, Zell," he said softly.

Zell made a squeaking sound that greatly resembled that of a scared kitten's, and clutched onto Seifer's arm.

"Well, at least we know Sis hasn't been up there," Quistis observed, brushing a stray piece of blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Someone might have heard us yelling though," Seifer said, now patting Zell's head as if he were some type of housepet. "They're probably wondering what's wrong."

"Yeah, maybe." Quistis arched an eyebrow. "Is he okay?"

Seifer sighed dolefully. "Yeah, the Chickenwuss'll be fine."

At that moment, the candelabra lamps that lined the hallway flickered for a few seconds, then went off completely, leaving Seifer, Zell, and Quistis in pitch black. Zell, of course, shrieked again.

"Oh no… there must have been a power outage!" Quistis cried frantically. "We have to make sure we don't get separated." Gathering her powers together, she cast a mild fire magic, which acted as makeshift lantern. Her pale blue eyes scanned the room, widening with fear. "Seifer? Zell?"

But Seifer and Zell were gone.


End file.
